Thuận Thiên (sword)

"to obey, to accord with, to comply with Heaven") was the mythical sword of the Vietnamese Emperor Lê Lợi, who liberated Vietnam from Ming occupation after ten years of fighting from 1418 until 1428.

According to legend, the sword possessed magical power, which supposedly made Lê Lợi grow very tall.

While Lê Lợi was able to operate in his home province of Thanh Hóa, for the first 2–3 years, he was unable to muster the military forces required to defeat the Ming army in battle.

Believing that the Heaven had entrusted him with the great cause of freeing the land, Lê Lợi took up arms and rallied people under his banner.

His men no longer had to hide in the forest, but aggressively penetrated many enemy camps, captured them and seized their granaries.

One year after ascending the throne, Lê Lợi was on a dragon boat cruising around Hồ Lục Thủy (Green Water Lake), directly in front of his palace.

When they came to the middle of the lake, a giant turtle with a golden shell (Kim Qui) emerged from under the water surface.

The golden turtle advanced toward the boat and the emperor, then with a human voice, it asked him to return the magic sword to his master, Long Vương (Dragon King), who lived under the water.

It suddenly became clear to Lê Lợi that the sword was only lent to him to carry out his duty, but now it must be returned to its rightful owner, lest it corrupt him.

It descended back into the water, with the shiny sword in its mouth, and for a long period a flickering light was said to have been seen from beyond the muddled depths of the lake.